Snakes of the Element 47Ag
by pure-thornless-rose
Summary: The Elric Brothers are assigned a new partner for a new assignment in the east. Who's thier new partner anyway, and why? He or She shouldn't pose as any sort of problem...
1. Meet SilverSnake, and the New Uniform

**pure-thornless-rose: **Hey there all! Now this is my first FMA fanfiction, okay? Do you like the title? It's connected to the Periodic Table of Elements... We happened to be learning biochemistry in Biology class in school and my teacher gave our class the P T of E chart... Oh, and Ed will fill you in on which element ison the title... he'll tell you _in_ the story that is.

**disclaimer:** I, of course, dont and cant own FullMetal Alchemist or its schooper cool characters.

**_enjoy!_**

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**Snakes of the Element 47/Ag**

**Chapter 1: Meet SilverSnake… and the New Uniform**

**By: pure thornless rose

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INTRODUCTION

"State alchemists aren't the only dogs of the military. In fact, the military has more than that, more than just their dogs. The military has other people; individuals who are caught in their game and the military are the ones in control. Some of them even become state alchemists themselves. They have them strung up and dancing like the little marionette dolls you see in those adorable puppet plays—but the real thing isn't _adorable_. Like little game pieces, they have them on a set path where every move you make you'll be risking the chance of winning the game. Better yet, _their_ game."

"Unfortunately, I'm speaking the truth about these individuals. As a matter of fact, I know about many of them. I even _knew_ some of them. How? Well… let's just say that I'm one of those so-called individuals… those game player pieces. And I'm real close to becoming another one of their dogs."

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THE STORY (Duh...)

It was in the middle of the day, the clouds covered the sky here and there and occasionally passed by under the sun. The breeze swept over the grassy fields.

"I wonder how much longer until the next town?" Kaida asked herself as she continued along the bank of a stream. She paused and looked around, shielding her eyes from the sun until a cloud passed over it. She saw the height of the sun, "I think I'll take a quick break…" She then dropped her backpack under a nearby tree and walked to the stream's edge and bent down over the edge. She could see her eyes and her short, tied back, black hair become distorted in its reflection in the water. Her right eye was a plain brown while her left eye was hazel.

She took a good look around at her surroundings again. The stream was before her and there was a dirt road a whole grassy field away. There was a small forest along the stream and a bridge crossed over where the dirt road connected, but it was far off.

Kaida pulled out her silver pocket watch—the ones the State issued to every State Alchemist, of course—and checked the time. A minute until noon.

"Yeah… I'll go ahead and take five…"

Meanwhile, back at Central…

"Ed, I need you to go visit a couple little villages further east… again." Colonel Roy Mustang said flatly, inspecting his little ink pen. He never moved his eyes away from it.

"WHAT!" he obviously yelled, "But I just got back from there!"

"Well you're going to go back."

Ed took a deep breath and counted in his head. "Why…?"

"Because… I said so… and you'll be meeting up with another State Alchemist."

"Who and what for?"

"She's titled "Silver Snake" alchemist; you, and Alphonse, will team up with her to investigate the towns marked on the map I gave her—here's your copy." Mustang handed him his copy of the map. Ed reluctantly took it, it had three small towns marked with a red dot on them, and they were east from Central for a good long distance. His face faltered while the Colonel's smirked. Ed read, "JERK" written all over his superior's face. "People in the three towns have been suspected of having done illegal alchemy, and since they're oh so close together, the State decided that two State alchemists and an armor suit can handle this small situation without the cost of trains to get them around."

"So where is this "Silver Snake" anyway? She still here or what?"

"She should be halfway to the first town by now… I sent her on her way yesterday, and since you and Al arrived yesterday, I decided to just let you two rest until today."

"Great, we'll have some catching up to do then huh…? Thanks for the break though…"

"Hm. Just get there soon before you loose your new partner. I hear the first town hates the State, and as long as she can keep her mouth shut about herself, she'll still be alive by the time you and your brother arrive…"

"Alrighty then…" Ed sighed. "I better go tell Al…" He walked to the door and opened it. "See ya." With a lazy salute he continued out the door.

Outside Central…

Alphonse decided to head outside and wait for Ed. He couldn't stand still while being inside the offices anyway. He couldn't do anything that included _not moving_… Hawkeye wouldn't permit it—Black Hayate would think he's too good of a spot to pee on, especially if she wasn't around to witness it and shoot…

"Hey Al… Guess what…?"

"What is it, big brother?"

"Colonel _Pyrokenesis_ wants _us_ to head back East… _again_…" Ed sounded upset… as usual.

"_East_…?"

"Yeah… apparently, we're going to meet up with another State Alchemist. She's titled "Silver Snake" Alchemist.Wonder what for…?" He suddenly began pondering to himself, nearly drowning Al's voice with his mental thoughts… "Hmmm…"

" 'She?' So is she here in Central or do we have to go find her?" Al asked and found no answer. "Hello? Brother? Are you even listening to me?"

"—Huh? What did you say?" He snapped back into the world and drifted back into his own thoughts. "—Oh sure, Al. Yeah…" Ed folded his arms and looked up in the sky in thought, still holding the map. Alphonse saw the map and slipped it out of his little big brother's automail hand. He never noticed…

"A map?" Al inspected the map of their country and spotted the three red dots on three small towns close to each other. "Brother, what's this all about?" No answer. "Nevermind… I'll go ask the Colonel myself. Stay alright?"

"Uh-huh…"

Colonel Mustang's Office…

"Heheh…" The Colonel had just finished today's set of papers. He smirked at himself, and at the little doodle of a woman (that looked very familiar) wearing the Military's uniform—but with a miniskirt on. It was just then when first lieutenant Hawkeye had entered with another stack of paper work. Roy knew she was there but he kept on doodling. "Hi…"

"Hello, Colonel Mustang." Trying to keep things professional unlike he did. "Here, more… papers…" He voice faded when she saw the little drawing. It was almost done and it looked pretty good. It had her wearing her uniform, but with a mini skirt. She blushed and dropped the papers on his desk. "W-what are you drawing?"

"You like it? Cause I know I do…" He picked up the sheet with one hand and pencil in the other, smirk—no grin on his face and then he showed it to her. She too read, "JERK" all over his face. "Hell, that's what _you_ will be wearing once _I_ become Fuhrer…"

"Colonel, I advise you to hand me that sheet of paper."

"No."

"Colonel… that statement earlier, as I said before, can be counted for as treason… and I warn you…"

"Warn me huh?" He stood up and held onto the drawing. "…Or else what?"

"Just, just give it to me—uh… there's something wrong with it…"

"Oh really… No, I think it's quite the masterpiece! What's wrong with it?" He held out the paper to her. She quickly snatched it and pointed at her image.

"THIS is what's wrong! The skirt is too small!" She pointed at her image. "And my—err, _her_ bust is way, _way_ too large… If the Fuhrer saw this, it would be categorized as harassment to female officers…!"

"Oh really, and you're saying all of this to protest or protect me? How sweet—Now give that back it's mine…"

"No—and no…" She blushed some more. Havoc had suddenly entered the room, saw the situation, not to mention the drawing, and looked at the two. Mustang was already reaching over his desk for his masterpiece while Hawkeye was inching her face away from his and holding the picture away from him. This was how Havoc saw the image by the way. "I'm going to dispose of this as soon as po—huh?"

Suddenly the paper was pulled from her clutches and into Havoc's. "Mm-mm-nnn… Nice drawing… did you do this, Mustang?" Mustang nodded proudly. "Heheh… I wonder… how could _you_ draw Hawkeye if she was never in the same room huh? I bet you have a good image of her in your head…!"

"That's NOT me… That thing's genetically enhanced and I AM NOT genetically enhanced!"

"Hey…!" Mustang stiffened. "Are you questioning my artistic abilities?"

Suddenly Fury and Breda entered the room. Hawkeye's eyes (heheh…) widened, there was a good chance that they would see Mustang's "masterpiece". So quickly, while Mustang and Havoc took notice of the other two officers, she snatched the drawing and crumpled it up. Havoc was also about to tell them about it but it was too late for him to say anything. Even more-so when Hawkeye tossed the paperball into mid-air.

**_Bang! B-Bang, BANG!_**

She shot the crumpled drawing as it flew though the air, the bullets tearing the paper ball into pieces. The bullets purposefully close to hitting the colonel, the bullet holes were right behind him to the side a little bit also. Everyone was wide-eyed. She exited with a content smile. "Like I was saying before the interruption. I'll dispose of it ASAP… You should be getting back to your work… Colonel Roy Mustang…" She stopped under the doorpost.

"Before I retreive _A LOT MORE_ for you…"

The men gulped and sweatdropped as she entered the hall. They also heard her greet Al. Shortly Al entered the room with his map.

"Good afternoon everyone!" Al greeted them; he saw the (still smoking) bullet holes behind Mustang. "Oh, Colonel Mustang, why are those bullet holes so close to you?"

"I'm out…" Havoc suddenly said and exited.

"Wait…" Fury whined slightly. "What _did_ happen before we came in?"

"Tell us, Havoc!" Breda insisted. "I gotta know because this seems interesting!"

The two trailed behind Havoc, leaving Mustang to explain things on his own… At least he only has a one-person audience left.

"Well, it's nothing… don't worry about it."

"Oh… alright then."

"Did you want to ask me something, or something? Because I need to get this paperwork done before Hawkeye comes in with… _more_ _paperwork_…" He cringed at his last word as he plopped down into his seat again.

"Actually, yes. It's about the new assignment you gave to Ed… and this map."

"Couldn't you just go talk to Ed about that?"

"Well… yes… But no… Just look out the window and see for yourself."

Both of them then looked out the window and searched for Ed.

"Okay…" Mustang finally said after seeing Ed sitting there idly on his own. "What is he doing?"

"Thinking about why our new partner was titled the 'Silver Snake' Alchemist…."

With Ed… _tsk, tsk, tsk..._

"Okay… there must be some logical reason why she's "Silver Snake"…" Ed pondered on and on, not knowing why he's suddenly all worked up about this… (ME: Maybe because I said so… ED: Hey… no fair! ME: Shut it… I'm the writer around here…) Then, as he thought on, a visual image came to him…

It was a faceless woman (since he didn't know how old she was)… "Okay… maybe she has some sort of special ability that has something to do with snakes—that are made of the forty-seventh element of the Table of Elements with the atomic weight of 107.8682 and symbol of Ag… also known as _SILVER_!" Then, next to the woman, appeared two giant _silver_ snakes… made of… _silver_! "But what would the silver snakes have to do with _her_?" Then the two snakes went _**poof**_ and disappeared. He shook his head. "No, no…Hmm… Ah! I know! She's _half_ silver snake!" Suddenly the woman in his mind went _**poof**_ and suddenly her bottom half was silver snake rather than legs and feet. She looked at him and flailed her arms and shook her head wildly as if saying, "NONONONO... **NO**!" "Okay… maybe not…" Another _**poof**_ and the woman was back to normal and she sighed in relief. "Oooh! Her powers control snakes that evilly _glare_ at things and turn them into _silver_!" She shook her head in disappointment… "Okay, she's right… that would totally mess up Alchemic laws anyway… she sounds kinda dangerous too…" She nodded. "Okay, I have another idea! She can create living silver snake chimeras that do things at her own whim, and then, she, herself, has and automail arm and she can transmute it into a weapon that resembles silver snakes! HA! THAT'S RIGHT! IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE NOW!" He said all this proudly and folded his arms and nodded. Also, the woman had changed into what his vision imagined. Suddenly the whole scene was stopped and torn by the angered woman and dumped into a suddenly there wastebasket. She was back to her original form and was very mad at Ed for imagining all those things. She stormed off and out of his mind. Ed stood up suddenly and reached into the air for the disappearing woman, "Hey! Wait! Don't go! That wasn't the reason why? Crap…"

Back in the office…

"Oh my…" Al said in concern.

"Did he just reach for something?" The colonel asked. "I think I heard him yell something too…"

"But there wasn't anything there… right?"

"His thinking got to him… either that, or he's finally cracked… I knew it would happen sooner or later..."

Quickly, after they watched Ed begin thinking again, they turned away to make sure they don't witness any more strange actions.

"So…" Roy began awkwardly, "About that assignment… and what you should tell your brother about Silver Snake…"

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**pure-thornless-rose:** HI THERE! I hope you enjoyed it. Was there anything wrong with it? If there was... then please, go ahead and tell me in your reviews... 

oh... and REVIEW... i kinda practically asked you about that a second ago... yeah...

please return for the next chapter!


	2. Almost There

Hey there all! Here's chapter two of Snakes of the Element 47/Ag! I know it's a long title, but I like it. Sorry if not a whole lot happens here, but in the next chapter, I promise it'll be more interesting. But this chapter should fill you in on what may be happening soon... Oh and thanks for the reviews, i love athrun and Rayame325!

**Disclaimer: Uh... you know I don't own FMA already, so why do I still have to tell ya? Oh well...!

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**Snakes of the Element 47/Ag**

**Chapter2: Almost There**

**By: pure-thornless-rose**

Ed and Al both decided to leave right away. Especially after Mustang told Al more about their new assignment and why Silver Snake was titled "Silver Snake." Once Al told Ed about his findings, Ed ceased to ponder about their new partner to be… finally.

So they took anything they needed, probably only money, and left. They followed the map's directions and traveled on foot. I don't know why they weren't provided with any transportation, I guess someone wanted them (or Ed) to suffer a long boring walk… Anyway, they got pretty far before sundown.

"Hey Al…" Ed began, still walking with his arms crossed behind his head.

"Yes, big brother?"

"I was just wondering… What's so special about our new assignment that we would need another partner? And why this Silver Snake anyway?"

"I'm not sure, Ed. We only know about the three villages, as far as what Colonel Mustang gave us. We also don't know a whole lot about Silver Snake… who she is, where she's from, how she is, her special abilities… I guess we'll learn that information once we meet her."

"Yeah…" Ed sighed. "Good point. For all we know, I bet she's not some kid like us."

"Actually, it's a good possibility that she is I think."

"Nah… I don't think so."

"You wanna bet on that, brother?"

"Yeah… A hundred says she's some lady in her twenties!"

"You sure about that? Alright, a hundred, she's around our age!"

Then, they shook on it. Ed felt like he had the upper hand in this since the chances that a kid like them could become an Alchemist of the State. But Al's hopeful heart knows his older brother will be wrong because if his brother was able to become a State Alchemist at twelve, then this Silver Snake probably just became a State Alchemist. So in order to find out, they continued on traveling east.

Ed looked at the sky ahead of him. "Whoa… it's almost sunset. Then it'll be dark out here soon."

"Well," Al suggested, "We can stop in this next town and rest if you want. The map says there's one not too far from wherever we are."

"About how far? Can you tell?"

"Uh…" Al looked at the map and thought a bit. "I'd say about three or four miles."

"What?" Ed groaned lightly. He sighed. "Oh… well all right then. We'll make that detour. I wanna eat too, I'm getting hungry."

About three or four miles later and in a little restaurant…

The waitress arrived with two glasses of water and two burgers. She seemed nice and smiled a lot.

"Here you go, the _big_ burger special, enjoy! Call me if you need anything…" She said as she walked away, smiling. But Ed stopped her.

"Excuse me, miss, but," he began, "I only ordered for one."

"Oh… well the other's on me, okay?" she said sweetly. "I know your friend here didn't want any, but it's just in case he did get hungry."

"Oh… well, thanks…"

"You're welcome…!" The she left again.

"Sorry about that Al…"

"Oh… well that's alright, she didn't know…" Al seemed sad, for a suit of armor, but he did. At least he'll cheer up again.

_Silence._

**GURGLE, GRUMBLE!**

"—Ah! Ehheh…"

"Was that your stomach?"

"Y-yeah."

"Then eat up! You're going to starve!"

"I'm one step ahead of you, man!"

Then, Ed picked up one of the burgers and wolfed it. "Ohm, nom, nom…"

"Uh… well… you should slow down if you want to stay alive—ah!"

"HURK! URFM! GURFF! MNG!" Ed weezed helplessly on his first burger… His face displayed a beautiful _plethora_ of colors!

First it was red…

Then blue…

Finally… purple! Oooohh Ahhhh…!

"Ohh no…!" Al panicked a little. "Hurry, Ed, drink this!" He quickly pushed his glass of water closer to his choking brother and his flailing arms. He must have a high metabolism or something if he gets hungry like that. He choked on his first burger, already! Oh well…

After the meal ordeal…

Ed and Al were, again, on the road to the first town on the map; where they were to finally meet with their partner. They had also just left the town's district and out of site from it. The sun was gone now too.

"Phew! Good idea to stop and rest and eat, Al!" Ed eulogized happily to his brother.

"Yes… but you nearly choked and suffocated on you food, brother!"

"Yeah, I know…" Ed continued. "But it was worth it I tell ya! **BURRRP** 'scuse me…!"

"I'm sure it was brother!" Al laughed.

Several hours ago…

Kaida was still under the tree, leaning on it as she sat there… napping. The sun was still up and she was lucky no one passed by during her little break. Who knows what kind of people are out there?

"UWAH!" Kaida suddenly shot up. "oh man…" She rubbed her head. "Well that was a weird dream… Heh… me waking up later than five minutes and never making it to the next town… yeah right…" She chuckled and pulled out her pocket watch. "—AHH! It's almost true! My dream! Gee I never really saw that coming…"

It had been more than five minutes… more like… sixty… So, quickly, she stuffed the pocket watch in her pocket; hurried up and gathered her possessions, well, her backpack.

"Ahh… darn it… I better get going…" She pulled out her map and analyzed it. "Whoa… I still have about seven or eight miles until I reach the first town here…" She looked at the sky. "The sun will be setting soon too…"

She cursed her extra several minutes of resting. Maybe she should have tried to stay awake. Yet nonetheless, she began her little journey again and continued eastbound to the next town. She managed to keep walking for two more hours when the sun began to set. But luckily for her, a nice old farmer driving a truck stopped and offered her a ride. She felt somewhat reluctant when she accepted because of her dream, but it was getting dark soon. Samuel Hameilo was his name and he seemed like an interesting fellow. He was on his way to make a couple nighttime deliveries in town. Finding this out, when they reached the first town, Kaida offered to help with the deliveries, and he welcomed the idea. They made the deliveries in a couple hours and he dropped her off in front of a restaurant. She was able to make a couple observations from her quick ride around town as well, just to have a good look at its conditions.

"Thank you very much for giving me a ride to this town, Mr. Hameilo."

"No problem, kid. Anytime… I should also thank you for helping me… I'm getting too old for this job anyway." He smiled another warm smile at her. "Now, I have a sister living in this town, if you need a place to stay, she'll be happy to let you stay for a couple days or so." Then he handed her a slip of paper with an address on it. "She lives at this address."

"Thank you."

"No… thank you. Now take care."

"Oh! And are you sure you don't need help with that last bit of cargo, Mr. Hameilo?" She asked while sticking the slip of paper in her pocket.

"No, no, that's okay, thanks. But the man I'm delivering this cargo to doesn't like it when I have other people delivering with me… that's why he's my last delivery of the night and why I usually work alone… I'm not sure why, but that's what he wanted. He's a powerful client too, and my clients are whom I serve right now. Thank you though. Good Bye!"

"Bye!" She waved at the leaving delivery truck and turned to the restaurant.

"I wonder why his last client's so discreet like that?" She thought to herself. "Poor old Mr. Hameilo… But I'm going to find this man… he seems pretty suspicious…" When her assignment entered her thought again, she remembered that this town didn't like State Alchemists. As a matter of fact, she never spotted anyone from the military around. Maybe the State had undercover officers to keep an eye around this town. Anyway, she stuck the silver chain of her pocket watch into her pocket. "But for now… some dinner!"

By the time she entered the little restaurant, Ed and Al began their long walk to the next town, where she was in.

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Ahh... it's finished... I hope you liked it... I also hope the time shifting stuff didn't confuse you or anything. Wait for the next chapter okay? 

Bye-bye!


	3. Sneezes and Bets

Hey again and welcome! Thanks for the reviews too, I always love hearing from you all. I'm glad to hear I wasn't confusing anyone too! So here's chapter three. Enjoy... : )

Disclaimer: You know how it goes, right? I don't own FMA or it's characters...

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Snakes of the Element 47/Ag  
**Chapter 3: Sneezes and Bets  
****By pure-thornless-rose**

**In the first mapped town of which I still don't have a name for…**

Kaida stepped out of the restaurant and set out to go and find Ms. Hameilo, Mr. Hameilo's younger sister. It took her a while, but she did eventually find the house.

Ms. Hameilo was like her brother and she happily let Kaida have a place to stay, especially when she heard that she had been the one who helped her brother earlier. She gave Kaida a room and toured her around the little house. Kaida also never revealed anything important about herself, nor her actual reason for visiting the town. But she did tell them that she was waiting for two other people. Ms. Hameilo said it would be OK to let them stay also. Then, just as Ms. Hameilo said good night, Kaida asked if she could use the phone. She had remembered that she was to call Mustang with the number he gave her once she settled somewhere in town. It was a direct phone line to the new special phone in the office so anyone else listening couldn't track the area down. Ms. Hameilo gave her permission to use it, the _only_ phone in the house. _Perfect_.

"Hello?" Mustang's voice reached her.

"Hello, Col—uh, Roy!" Kaida said in a fake but very convincing tone of happiness. She's been told to speak in a casual manner like so, just in case someone was listening when no one else should be. During this time these days and the town she's in, if people find out, she's either ignored and safe, or heard of and in danger for her safety or life. "How's it goin'?"

"The lines clear, how about you?" Ha announced half-heartedly.

"Uh… hold on a sec…" She looked around the room casually, making any observations. "Clear… Anyway, I'm in town and settled in the residence of Ms. Hameilo—the sister of a farmer and part time delivery man who gave me a ride here earlier today…"

"Good, very good; now, I heard from Ed earlier, he and his brother are on their way there. But they're traveling on foot so it'll take a long while…"

"…Uh… Ed and his brother…?"

"The Elric Brothers, Kaida, ELRIC," he stressed. "I know this is your first assignment and all, but it'll be for the best if you know exactly who you're going to work with… AND everything else on top of that…"

"Yes sir…"

"Good," he continued, sounding pleased. "Now since they will be traveling on foot, they should be arriving there very early in the morning—I want you to meet them at the town's entrance—rest up and good luck…"

"Thank you, sir."

"Oh… and don't be surprised if _they're_ surprised to meet _you_. I left out information about you on accident when I told them about you…"

"Okay… …?"

"I didn't have the right mug of coffee yesterday…"

"Oh alright…" she sighed slightly. "Oh and would that be the same reason why you didn't give any of us some sort of transportation to this town?"

"For you… yeah. For Ed… yes… and no…" You can tell he was smirking at the other end of the line. "Now it would be best if you rest now and get up early later… Bye."

"Good bye, sir."

Click.

**On the road with Ed and Al…**

"Aahh—Ahhh—ACHOO!"

"Bless you…"

"Eh…" Ed sniffed. "Thanks Al…"

"You're welcome." He turned to his brother again. "You know, Ed, they say that if you sneeze, someone's talking negatively behind your back."

"Really…" Ed sighed. "Yeah—cause I just got this really uneasy feeling that Colonel Jerk's giving off another one of his sly, know it all, sarcastic smirks…!"

**In Mustang's Office…**

Mustang hung up the phone and smiled to himself. Hawkeye and Havoc were seated before his desk. Havoc sat there with his cigarette in his mouth, Hawkeye just sat there in thought. They turned to their superior.

"What's _that_ smile for?" Havoc asked him.

"Oh I was just thinking…" he began. "I should make Ed and his brother travel on foot more often…"

"…And why would that be…?" Hawkeye inquired. "You justlike tormenting him don't you…?"

"Yeah…"

"Heh… I would too if I was in charge." Havoc pitched in. "He's just some pipsqueak of a brat."

"A tempermental brat, that, he is." Hawkeye nodded.

"Haha!" Mustang laughed, "I'm so glad you two agree with me!"

**Back with Ed and Al…**

"AHHCHOO! ACHOO! ACHOO!"

"Bless you…"

"Dammit, three of 'em!"

Al chuckled.

"Ugh… man, I bet it's all coming from the trio in Central…"

**After Several Hours of Walking…**

The sun was going to rise soon, maybe in about an hour or two, so it was still a bit dark outside. The boys just entered the town's district entrance.

"Oh…" Ed moaned of exhaustion. "We're here… FINALLY!"

"Yes…" Al cheered to himself. "Now didn't Colonel tell us that we'll be meeting Silver Snake at the town entrance?"

"Yeah…" Ed was pretty much pooped from walking non-stop in the dark. "But that bench over there looks sooo inviting…"

"If you were tired, we should have taken a break a long time ago…"

"No way, Al! Are you crazy? Do you know what kind of people are out there in the dark?"

"No… you just wanted to get here right away…"

"Yeah, pretty much. Now let's go visit that comfy looking bench!"

"That's okay, you go ahead. I'll go wait for our partner."

"Woohoo…!" Ed cheered to himself and slowly made his way to the bench. "Almost—there!"

"WAIT!" a girl yelled, running up to them. Ed stopped in his tracks reluctantly. "You—gasp—don't happen to be—the Elric brothers," she panted. "Wouldn't you?"

"Yeah…" Ed sighed and turned to face her. Al stood next to them. "Who are you…?"

She straightened up and stuck a hand out for him to shake. "I'm Kaida Mae Ana Eborrichi-Watsonstein…!" She shook his hand delightfully and then Al's, Ed raised an eyebrow. "Also known as Silver Snake…!"

Ed's jaw dropped, she smiled, and Al smirked inwardly. "WHAT!"

"Wow… you are _much_ younger than we—no—_brother_ expected." Al recited happily to annoy Ed..

"Okay…" Ed groaned. "Just how old are you?"

"Oh, fourteen. Why?"

"Cause I just lost a bet—here Al…" Ed sighed once more and handed Al his hundred.

"Thank you!"

"Okay…" Kaida tilted her head a bit. "Anyway, it's so nice to finally meet you, Full Metal and brother Alphonse!" She smiled at both of them. Ed noticed she didn't confuse him for his brother and he smiled at this. "Colonel told me it would the best to know exactly who I'm working with."

"Wow… He actually knows how to give out _helpful_ commands…"

**Mustang's Office…**

"Ahh—CHOO!"

"Gezunheit…" (Sorry, don't know how to spell that...)

"Thanks…" Colonel sniffed.

"You know what they say, Colonel…" Hawkeye began.

"Yeah, yeah, I know…"

Havoc chuckled. "Heh… I bet if you sneezed for everything negative said behind your back…" He laughed quietly and Hawkeye refrained from chuckling and smiled at his comment. Colonel scowled.

"Hey…"

**The new trio…**

"Now, I'm sure you guys must be tired from all that walking you did." Kaida began walking backwards a little. "I found a place to stay and you can rest there for a while."

"Great! Come on Al," Ed smiled, looking forward for some rest, "we have a place to stay already!"

"The lady who let me stay in her household gave me an OK for two more guests." She began walking and they followed.

While they strolled, something shiny caught her eye. It was Ed's pocket watch chain.

"Hey Ed? You do know this town has it in for the military and State, right?"

"Oh… Yeah that's right…" He caught her looking at the chain. "My chain huh…?" She nodded and he tucked it away. "Thanks… I forgot what Colonel told me…"

"No problem." She smiled again. She stopped and turned to one of the little houses on her left. "Here we are…" Then, she walked up to the doorstep and opened it. She entered and looked around.

"Oh hello, Kaida, dear."

"Oh! Hello Ms. Hameilo, you're up already? It's still only five in the morning…"

Ms. Hameilo looked past Kaida. "Are these the two others you told me about?

"Yes, they just arrived in town." Then she introduced them all to each other and walked to the guests' room's double doors. "Now… here is where we're all going to dorm for the time being…" She said this as she opened the room. It was quite large and simple and held five separate beds along one side of the room; there was a large window with a desk and chair beneath it too. "I claimed that bed in the back by the way…"

Ed stepped in and plopped himself on the bed next to the one Kaida claimed. "Ah… so comfy…"

Al followed and looked out the window, the sun was only just rising. Kaida shut the door behind her and began speaking quietly, sitting on her bed. "I presume your travel was tiresome…"

"Uh huh…"

"Listen, once you've rested up, we can go into town again. Will that be alright?"

"What's wrong?" Al asked. "You look bothered. Do you have anything about our assignment already?"

"Yeah, actually I do." She squirmed and sat up. "I believe this town just _might_ have someone doing some illegal alchemy… but everything's still too broad and I want to do some investigating."

"Tell me something, Kaida." Ed said as he lay there with his arms behind his head. "Is this your first assignment?"

"Yeah." She said coyly. "Why?"

"Oh nothing. It's cause you seem pretty prepared and everything all ready. That's all."

Kaida began to think a bit. "Well, Hawkeye and Mustang _did_ both give me a couple pointers for my first time out here and all—heh, I swear, if those two were married with a child, they'd make good parents…"

"Ha! That's a load of crap!" Ed laughed. "Mustang's nothing but a let's-go-on-a-date-and-move-on kind of guy! And Hawkeye… I'm not sure, she'd make a good mom I guess." _(Mustang: Ahh-CHOO!)_

"Well, she already does put up with so many other men around her… and Black Hayate." Al pointed out, Ed agreed with a nod. "But then again, you don't know all the possibilities out there, Ed." Kaida agreed with him this time and nodded. Ed's face faltered and he scowled.

"Humph, you wanna make a bet out of that you two?"

"It'll take a long time to see, but when the time comes, Edward Elric…"

"Don't you mean _IF_ the time comes?"

"No… we'll be right."

"YUP! And make it two hundred each!" Al cheered. Then they agreed with a shake.

Ed yawned "good luck in the near future you two" and dozed off afterwards while Kaida told Al about everything that had happened to her while they were still gone.

**Somewhere in the along the (_hypothetical_) years…**

Ed, Al, Winry, and Kaida were walking in Central Park one day. Winry and Kaida were in a deep conversation about automail and Winry was the orator while Kaida listened to every word with interest. Ed looked bored and Al was falling behind. He just spotted a lonely kitten and picked it up. Ed saw him and began lecturing him about taking care of kittens and not being able to keep it. The two girls noticed them but shrugged and paused from walking.

"Al, don't make me have to tell you again—ah?" A tap on the shoulder by Kaida suddenly interrupted Ed. "What?"

"Edward Elric…" She began to announce. "You owe your brother and I _two hundred each_!"

Ed looked at her like she was crazy. "ARE YOU CRAZY? HELL NO… why should I anyway?"

Al looked confused, but he noticed someone was missing from the group. "Hey where's Winry you guys?" They all looked around and spotted her, she was suddenly talking to some random yet familiar looking couple just ahead of them. "Oh…"

Ed's eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly. Al and Kaida gave each other a secret high five. Winry then turned to them and smiled.

"Hey guys. Guess what?" She blurted out. "You should come over here and see Mr. And _Mrs_. Mustang's adorable baby girl!" She enjoyed putting an emphasis on the em-aar-ess (M R S if you didn't get that).

Behind her, they could see a baby stroller, Riza with a nervous smile and sweat-drop and Roy with a dry and annoyed expression on his face as he looked at Ed's expression… both behind the baby stroller.

"Ehh… I'll write you two a check later…"

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Bwahahahahaa... I made Ed lose two bets in one chapter...! And I don't feel bad about it... Anyway... thanks for reading and review please! (I'm so polite!) And come back for the next chaper, okay? 

bye-z-bye!


	4. Running Around

Hey there guys! Thanks for the reviewing! (I think I only got one for the last chapter... thanks Rayame325!) Here's chapter four too so read and enjoy, okay?

Oh... and you guys don't mind that my fics have long chapters, right? I tend to make things detailed and it takes a lot of typing... At least I don't have many grammar problems Future fics might be shorter just to let you know.**  
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**Snakes of the Element 47/Ag**

_**Chapter 4: Running Around**_

_**By pure-thornless-rose

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_Out in town…_

After a little argument about what they should do between Ed and Kaida this morning (Kaida won), they headed out to investigate a little more in town. The weather so far has been consistant and sunny, you could almost see anything. Speaking of which, the brothers noticed something strange about the newbie military pup. Her eyes: the right was brown while the left was hazel and gray, as if the brown had faded to that color. They also noticed that whenever she pulled up her coat sleeve or took of her coat, there would be bandages bound all the way up her whole left arm. They figured that that was where her supposed tattoo/marking thing was. But neither of them bothered to ask her yet. So they continued to look around town for a while longer.

Suddenly, as they walked past a jewelry store, a tall man with sunglasses and brown trench coat burst through its doors and ran through them as he put a hat on to help cover his face. Then one of the store's employees followed right after him yelling "help! That man's getting away with some of our jewelry! Get him!" The trio had responded to him and ran after the man as fast as they could. As they ran, Kaida separated herself from them and found a shortcut to cut him off.

"Al, where'd Kaida go!"

"I don't know, brother... but I think she's gone way ahead of us." He looked around and saw her up towards the rooftops (of the one story buildings, just to be safe on her sake) ahead of them. Ed followed his eyes.

"Good girl, that's some pretty quick thinking for a newbie." Ed grinned as he and Al continued to chase the bandit. He saw that there was nothing to dodge or try to avoid as she ran across the rooftops so she had gotten pretty far ahead of them. As long as she didn't trip, she was finally able to run in line with the quick bandit. Yet, just as I mentioned slipping and _hoping_ that she wouldn't, the unthinkable happened.

She _slipped_… on a loose roof tile.

She slipped and fell off the roof. But she was able to at least launch herself towards the bandit as a last resort. So as she flew through the air and landed on the poor guy, the brothers watched the whole incident. They rolled off the pathway and into the road. They jumped up and there was a clap and an alchemic light flash. Ed stood there now and the man was suddenly behind a cage of metal bars. The man plopped down and sat on the ground in defeat. Even though he wasn't running or anything now, they still couldn't get a good look at his face. He began laughing to himself, which confused the three.

"Good job…" he chuckled.

"Huh? Good job…?" was all they could say. Ed lost his patience as to why he was laughing quietly and yelled at him. "Stop laughing, what's so funny huh? YOU'RE the one who's stuck in there."

"Heh… Not anymore kiddo…" Suddenly there was another flash of light and several of the bars had been broken off and melted into a long spear. "HAHA! Foolish kids. I'm no ordinary thief all right? I _chose_ to steal in the _**daylight**_ for heaven's sake!"

Ed responded and transmuted his automail into a blade and launched at him. The two were fighting now but neither of them made a hit. The guy was too fast and Ed was making more dodges than attacks. They inched their fight over a sewage lid. Al and Kaida would only be getting in their way and only tried to help by trying to slow the man down anyway possible. It worked and the man began having a bit of difficulties in fighting, they even managed to knock his hat off!

But this fight didn't last any longer than this. There was another flash of light and the heavy manhole cover suddenly burst up and into the air and landed with a loud thud, nearly crashing on Ed. It's landing caused a big puff of dust. Then itcleared and the man was gone. Ed looked down the sewage hole and heard and saw nothing (but he did take a whiff of the sewage stench), Kaida and Al looked around their surroundings and quickly searched through the people. But the man was gone; the only thing that has left of him was his hat.

Ed cursed silently at this and Al picked up the hat. Kaida gave up looking for him.

"Where did he go?" she sighed.

"He either escaped into the streetsor through the sewage during the dust cover." Al said as he inspected the hat. "It's interesting how he was able to make an array while fighting so quickly though…"

"It's a great way to confuse and get away…" Ed said.

"Ingenious…" Kaida murmured. "I wish I thought of something like that… Dammit…"

"Hah?" the brothers looked at her in surprise.

"AH! Oh! No, not like that! From my older sis!" She said nervously, "Whenever I wanted to play a trick on her and hide one of her things! Back when I was little too... That's all... !"

"Oh… good." Ed and Al sighed in relief.

"You have an older sister?" Al asked.

"Yeah… she's the only family I have left too but I haven't seen her in a long time though." She said in wonder, she also seemed a bit indifferent about the topic. Her eyes wandered towards the sewage lid. "Huh? What's this 'A' for?" She asked, looking at the giant "A" that had been welded across the metal lid with alchemy.

The store employee finally reached them and stood next to Kaida. They looked at him. "Looks like he got away…"

"Sorry, sir, but we tried."

"That's alright, I know. But this was the ninth time this month… no one's been able to catch the man…" He then saw the "A" on the sewage lid. "And that 'A'… it's sort of his trademark whenever he gets away with something… lately he's been stealing gold and silver jewelry… the bastard… now I have to go report this one… Thanks for trying kids…" Then the man left towards his workplace.

"Wonder what the 'A' stands for…" Ed began to think about it but Al interrupted him before he became consumed in thought… like last time.

"Who knows big brother…? But we'll have to figure out a way to find him soon." Then he turned to Kaida. "Do you think its Mr. Hameilo's client, Kaida?"

"It's a possibility…" she shrugged. Ed looked at them like he missed something… cause he did.

"Wait. WHO?"

Al and Kaida looked at each other and shrugged. She had forgotten to tell him what she told Al earlier since he was _napping_… So they went into a restaurant to rest a bit. She then told him of her suspicions. Asking for a glass of water while she was at it, she picked up a fork and analyzed it.

"But let me stress that everything's still too broad. That's why I wanted to look into it a bit more… maybe I should go ask Ms. Hameilo about it."

"So his clients are whom he serves right now, huh…?" Ed cited her words. She nodded. "You don't suppose _he's_ involved now do you?"

"No, he's a busy farmer in his sixties who does his own deliveries … I don't think he can do anymore than that…" she shook her head in defense for the old man. But her expression relaxed. "But... then again… it _can_ be easy for me to trust people sometimes… it's a fault, I know, but—"

"Wait… so we could be staying with a _crazy_, _senile_, old woman who's only _acting_ to be nice!"

"I said _SOMETIMES_ Full Metal! _Sometimes_!" She gripped on the fork now. She had also let her guard down and a small alchemic flash emitted from her hand and the fork's tines were melted onto each other like a weird spoon with points on the end. "HM… Huh? Oops…" She looked at the fork and quickly held it down in hopes that no one saw it except for the three of them."Hm… this looks kinda cool... butI better fix this…" The brothers looked on and she held onto the spork below the table again. She concentrated and there was another alchemic flash and the fork was back to normal. She sighed, "That was close…"

Then a waitress came by. "Here's your water, miss!" She said as she gave Kaida her water, then she turned to the other two. "Oh, and are you sure you don't want anything?"

"No thank you." Al replied. So she left with a… _smile_…(shivers, creepy!) "Phew... If she came any sooner, she would have seen that…" They nodded in agreement. OO;

"So… you can manipulate metals huh?" Ed assumed. "And without making an array too."

"Well... there's one on me so that's part of what I can do."

"You know, I'd like to see what else you can do other than spoon bending…" he insisted, she inched away from him."So how about you say we spar later today?" He was smiling suddenly.

She scowled a bit. "No… I already won our argument about that… and we're supposed to be doing our job! Colonel put us on an assignment remember?"

Silence. Ed scowled back.

"Colonel's pet…"

"Huh?" She saw a challenge in his tone. "Military _bad_ dog."

"Military _goody good_."

"Oh yeah? W-well... you're some short-tempered teen with an attitude who loses it just because someone called you short!"

"Well… I'm _not_ short…"

"You're my height and you're older than me…"

"I'm only older by about a year! And plus, I don't care."

"Yeah… say that again and I'll laugh."

"I. DON'T. CARE."

"HA. HA. HA."

"Wimp…"

"Am not!"

"Are too…"

"Don't be mean to me."

"I can if I wanted, you're just a newbie military pup."

"FINE! OKAY! We'll spar!"

"Finally! It's about time you—"

"Tomorrow…" Then she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Damn…"

As they argued, Al sat patiently. Waiting for them to finish their little skirmish. After a few seconds, Kaida became bored and began staring at her glass of water when she got a little idea.

"Hey guys… I have an idea…" She took her glass at hand. "Letting Mr. Hameilo lead us to the mystery client… How does that sound?"

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If you wanna know a bit more about Kaida, or anything else, just visit my bio. Or just ask me yourself. okay? 

Anyway. Here's the end of this chapter. Come back for the next okay? More things are coming together too! Oh, and please review too okay?


	5. Gold and a Bit of Silver

Hey there all! So here's another (long but good) chapter to Snakes of the Element 47/Ag... Enjoy... And thanks for the reviews! I really enjoyed them.

Now did you hold down the SHIFT key or press CAPS LOCK, BloodFlavoredDoghnutsRoxMySox...? And Rayame325, don't worry, I know what your going through.  
**I'm broke and can't _own_ anything...**

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_**Snakes of the Element 47/Ag  
**__**Chapter 5:Gold and a Bit of Silver  
**__**By pure-thornless-rose**_

_Much, much later that day…_

It's nighttime; Kaida, Ed, and Al were sitting outside of another restaurant, waiting for Mr. Hameilo's truck to show up so they could execute their plan.

I mean, why not stalk the old man just to find out who his last client is? It's an ingenious plan! I think.

"So…" Kaida whispered. "When the truck arrives, I'll hitch a secret ride and you follow…?"

"Yeah," Ed sat up, "Chasing the truck around town will only tire us anyway…"

"Oh… And when the truck leaves don't forget drop these coins for us to follow since I'm too big to get on and you volunteered before Ed had a chance."

"Killjoy…"

"Well it's only better for one to get caught rather than two… that way,I can saved!" She teased and smiled, sitting up. "Oh, and don't forget to pick up the change okay? It's all the money change we put together…"

"Just don't get caught already…" Ed whined.

"She won't get caught, Ed, right Kaida…?"

"We can only hope…Huh?"

Ed elbowed her and nodded toward a truck coming their way. She nodded back and stood up.

"Here we go…" She held onto the satchel of coins, letting Mr. Hameilo deliver his cargo and reenter the vehicle.

Then she climbed onto the back, lifting up the canvas flaps to look inside.Only one crate left; she went further in and inspected it. Quickly, she used alchemy to pick out a few nails and lifted one of the wooden planks, she looked inside.

"Unh, it's too dark…" So she looked around and stepped backwards. She heard herself kick something and picked it up.

"What the… now what were the chances of that?" Then the truck's engine started. "A box of matches…! Maybe I can borrow a stick for a second."

She lit it and peered inside; then the truck began moving so she stuck the nails back into the crate. "Veggies and a paper-wrapped package, I guess that helps…"

Mindlessly, she stuck the matchbox in her pocket and sat down and looked outside. The truck continued to flinging out on a steady pattern.

Soon, Kaida could feel the truck's speed slow way down.The truck was nearing its destination. She tossed one last coin and hopped out before the truck stopped. Then, she hid behind a bush and looked around.

They had entered a secluded place, down the road was the entrance gate and up the road was a large building.The truck was parked before the building.

Shortly, Ed and Al showed up so they hurried and hid behind some shrubs. Then Hameilo made his way and knocked, a tall man answered, but they couldn't see his face, the light from inside made a shadow and there wasdark outside.

Al already made his way up behind a closer shrub, the others followed suit and shortly they could hear the two men.

"Here's your delivery, Mr. Aldeger."

"Very good, thank you."

"Now are you expecting anymore cargo soon? It's just so I know in advance."

"Yes, in about two days. Now, just leave the cargo out there, I'll have some of my assistants pick it up."

"Right away." Mr. Hameilo then went back to the truck and unloaded the large crate on his own. He was a big, strong man (almost like Armstrong) so he was able to do it. He looked back into the truck and searched it. "I could have sworn I tosseda box of matches in here…"

"Uh oh…" Kaida froze and stiffened. "Crappit…"

"What is it?" Al looked at her.

"I know where his matches are…" she answered reluctantly; now slipping the matchbox out of her pocket. Ed saw it and shot a look at her. She backed away. "I didn't mean to… I'm sorry!" she whispered.

Ed was about to lecture her, but Al interrupted. "Guys… I think I saw a flash emit from one of those windows."

Ed sighed, "Let's go check it out then."

Watching Hameilo wave bye and leave, they quietly snuck towards the window. He peeked into the window first and quickly ducked back down. Someone in the room had nearly spotted him.

"Did you see anything?"

"Just a couple of men."

Then another flash of light, so they all looked in quickly. It was an alchemic light. They ducked down.

"I assume you all saw _that_." Kaida whispered. They nodded. "They were using alchemy… but for what?"

"Don't know…" Ed whispered back. "I couldn't see, some of the men were in the way…"

"I couldn't see either." Al added. "But do you think this is enough to accuse them for doing anything illegal?"

"Yep…" Kaida said as she peered in again. "They're making gold…"

_In their temporary dormitory…_

"We should report this now right?" Kaida asked Ed.

"Yeah…" he replied in a sigh. "Too bad those assistants of Mr. What-cha-ma-call-it's were too stupidto shut their curtains…"

"It's Aldeger, brother."

"Yeah I knew that… Which also brings me to think he's that thief..."

"Good point, brother. I noticed that too."

"Same here... And about the cargo… There was a package, filled with who-knows-what, stuffed in there with some vegetables. But why _veggies_?"

"_Because you idiot_… vegetables are carbon-based life forms, figure it out from there...It's either that, or they were used for cover…Just how did you pass into State Alchemy...?"

"Oh yeah...!" she laughed. Then her face became serious. "But hey… I'm not like _the_ great alchemy genius, Edward Elric: the youngest State Alchemist ever recorded! I'm not as talented as you and I still have learning to do, I'm only fourteen… And I'm not an idiot..."

"Oohh…" Ed said like something just dawned upon him. "I see now…"

"You're thinking of something mean again aren't you, bro..."

"I bet I know why Kaida's been assigned as our new partner…!"

"Don't Ed…"Al caught on to Ed's thinking.

"Colonel's keeping _training wheels_ on for her since she's still fresh material!" He laughed. Al shook his head. Kaida blushed and pouted angrily. "And we're probably here to make sure you can survive…"

"Brother, didn't Colonel do that to you too?"

"I bet he did… but I was _twelve_ and she's _fourteen_… Two years makes a BIG difference!" Ed was still sobering down from laughing… "Training wheels… what a good way to put it… I mean _now_ I can understand why you forgot to put the matchbox down, heh, I was going to _lecture_ you about that too…"

"You better be glad I'm not taking this personally, FullMetal…" (Comical) beads of tears appeared and her mouth wavered. "You're so mean...!" Then she broke into more tears, comically, as she sat helplessly on her bed. "Aahhhhh…"

"Brother you're so evil…"

"_Whhaat_…? I was only joking…! Geez, girls are such _cry babies_."

"You wanna say that again?" Suddenly, Kaida was standing next to his bed.

"Crybaby." Ed found her weakness…

WHAP!

"OW! WHY'D YOU HIT ME WITH THAT PILLOW!"

"I'm not a crybaby…"

"Sure you are…"

"AM NOT!"

POW!

"HIT ME AGAINAND I SWEAR!"

"SWEAR WHAT? YOU'RE GONNA _GROW_ OR SOMETHING?"

"Guys… calm down…! It's already late.… Sheesh..."

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For Ed's sake, I needed to give Kaida _some_ kind of weakness. Couldn't think of one until I noticed what I was typing… 

Well I hope you all liked this one too. Was it long? I don't wanna bore you guys or anything... So again, if there's something wrong, let me know, I might do something about it. Oh and _PLEASE REVIEW_! I like hearing from you guys, you know that. I like to wait for a couple or so reviews before adding another chapter too. See ya!


	6. Hot Trouble

Hi reader/s! This chapter's good for filling in any blanks (also a good friday 13th addition i think, whichended five minutes ago). It runs parallel to another fic I posted up. And this would probably make up most of its somewhat different chapter two. I changed Kaida's last name too. A_nd you know how disclaimers go... i'm still too broke anyway._

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_**Chapter 6: Hot Trouble** __By pure-thornless-rose_

_In Central Head Quarters…_

Hawkeye entered Mustang's office and alerted him for company. He nodded. Then a young raven-haired woman, about Fury's age (how old is he?), entered Mustang's office and followed by man and a woman, both somewhat older. They were all in Drachmian Military uniform, however _that_ looks like… They lined up and saluted the Colonel. Mustang saluted and raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"Well look at what the cat dragged in…" he greeted. "Captain Raena Watson… what brings you and your company over country borderlines? … Not to mention the Briggs Mountain region…"

She smirked back and stepped up to his desk. "I've been ordered to personally deliver these to you." Then she held out a large, brown envelope and placed it on his desk.

He looked down onto the envelope. "What's this, a present for me?"

"How the hell should _I_ know, I haven't a clue what's _in_ _it_—it's just for you." She sighed. "Oh… and it's _Lieutenant Colonel_ Raena Watson now… Captain was three years ago, remember?"

"_Lieutenant Colonel_…?" Both Mustang and Hawkeye looked at her in surprise. Both of them knew her for a very long time and already she's quickly progressing up the rankings of military officers in Drachma. "Hm, congratulations. But what happened, did your Fuhrer eat something poisoned, lived and decided to promote you?"

"No… Murder of a higher-up… and I was enjoying my position as Major too… while it lasted at least. Further more, I'm still working hard, as my father wished, before—well you know."

"Yes, former General Watson of Drachma… it's been ten years since the incident and I still remember him well."

"He was a good a man. Like your mother was as a State Alchemist." Hawkeye added sincerely. The Lt. Colonel smiled.

"Well, since we're on this topic…" she continued, "I understand my younger sister, Kaida, just became one of your State Alchemists. How did she do?"

"She could've failed. But her knowledge on metals and medical alchemy proves useful to Central. You could congratulate her, but she's already out on her first assignment—don't worry, I assigned her with the FullMetal alchemist along with his brother—It's just a form of training wheels designed for her."

"Ah, well that's good news." She sighed. "Thank you..."

The three of them continued to speak casually. But all stopped. Havoc, Fury, and Breda suddenly appeared through the door, Fury holding onto a hot mug of coffee.

"Colonel, I have—oh…" Fury paused. Everyone looked at them.

"Very sorry men but you'll have to report back later."

"Yes sir!" The three saluted their superior and left, closing the door behind them.

They were about to continue down the hallway until Fury stopped. He looked down on to Mustang's coffee.

"Oh no… I forgot to give him his coffee. He probably didn't see it…"

Havoc looked back at the door. "Oh well, orders are orders… I was too busy looking at the two other women in there anyway… and the brunette in the back with that guy? She's pretty cute."

Breda and Fury sighed helplessly at his words. "Well, '_those two women'_ and '_that guy' _are part of Drachma's military. They just arrived several minutes ago, they're here for Mustang," Breda cited his thoughts.

_In Mustang's office…_

"Listen, Colonel Mustang." Lt. Colonel Watson began. "Our country has been running into several issues and complications… especially concerning the murder."

"Yes… I understand, the non-aggression contract between our countries rides on who the murderer is and where he's from… _even though there's a huge mountain in the way so it's quite pointless…"_

"_Yeah you have a point there." _They whispered.

Suddenly the female Lieutenant stepped up and whispered something to Watson.

"Thank you, Second Lieutenant Flora, I nearly forgot." Then she turned back to the Colonel. "Mustang… Do you think it would be possible for me to make a telephone call directly to our headquarters?"

"Actually yes I believe so, the communications department could take care of that for you. Hawkeye, please show them to the sector."

"Yes sir." Then she opened the door. Watson was the first to exit.

"Thanks very much, Mustang."

_Just Outside the door moments earlier…_

"Are you going to just stand there and think about that coffee?" Havoc asked Fury.

"Huh? Oh, well you can take it if you want… I don't know what to do with it anymore…" Fury held out the coffee to the two.

"Nope." Havoc, "No way man…" and Breda refused instantly.

"Oh man…"

"Maybe you should just get in there," Havoc suddenly said. "Oh, and open the door _nice_ and _wide_. I wanna see that Drachmian chick again." A small heart floated about him. Breda elbowed him to snap him out of it.

"I guess, but they were busy. Maybe later..." Fury gave up and nearly began walking again. Breda and Havoc looked at each other, then at Fury… and smiled slyly.

"No, no, no." Havoc stated. "I'm sure he'd want his coffee. It'll take his mind off of his company… And he said _report back later_, it's _later_ now."

"Huh…" Fury was skeptical.

"Yeah," Breda chuckled, "Just goand give it to him…. And that's an order!" Then he grinned and shoved poor and unfortunate Fury. Who lost his balance and stumbled, trying to prevent the coffee he held out from spilling.

Then the door opened and a woman walked out. Nothing could be helped at this point and they ran completely into each other. The faint sound of the ceramic hitting her uniform button was followed by the splash of the coffee. It splashed all over his face and uniform as well ah hers.

No one said anything as they looked at the doorway.

While her two comrades hid their smirks, Watson stiffened from the heat and looked directly into Fury's surprised eyes, eye level to hers. He was still right in front of her. She sucked in air through her teeth. "Oo—that's h-hot…"

"Ohhh no." Fury also stiffened. But backed away after realizing how close he still was to her. He ignored the slight burn of the heat. "I… I… please forgive me…"

Havoc had flinched on impact and Breda froze pale, everything had all happened so quickly, and he still had his hand out from pushing Fury.

Colonel put a hand over his face and moaned. "This is _not_ good…" And then he thought a bit further, "_Agh_. That was my coffee too…"

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_Well there ya go! Hope you liked this one!_

Thank's for reviewing! I posted this one in hopes of saving myself from spork disemboweling... Oh and just to let ya know, my friends teased me fo being a grammarfreak and spellchecker too...

I know I'm messing with another country, but Drachma was my final choice--_didn't feel like making up some random country..._

And thanks for **reviewing**... **review** some more please! Bye!


	7. Let the Fight Begin

Hey there reader! How are ya? Thanks for the reviews so here's another chapter, enjoy! You know how the disclaimer goes.

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_**Snakes of the Element 47/Ag: **__**Chapter 7: Let the Fight Begin  
**__**By pure-thornless-rose**_

_Somewhere outside on any random field…_

It was still morning and Kaida and Ed were supposedly going to have their first spar here. Kaida looked around and spotted a tiny patch of flowers. She paused and began _studying_ them.

"You ready Kaida?"

"…" Incoherent mumbles could only be heard as she plucked one of the flowers from the root and studied the dirt.

"Well?"

"… Huh?" She snapped out of her gaze. Ed gave up and shook his head.

"You should be warming up instead of picking flowers… I'm not going to take it easy on you cause you're a _girl_…"

"So? I'm not _just_ picking flowers anyway…" She jumped up and tucked the flower behind an ear. Then she slipped her coat off and threw it aside. Exposing bandages that bound its way up her left arm. "I guess you can say that I'm also warming my mind up as well… _NOT picking flowers_…" Then more incoherent mumbles escaped her mouth. Ed rolled his eyes and mumbled 'whatever', then began a few stretches, as did Kaida. "Let's go…" Kaida straitened up and walked further out into the field.

Ed joined her and smirked. "You nervous?"

"Maybe… but I can't tell you that."

_In Central Head Quarters…_

The, oh so, young Lieutenant Colonel Watson and Fury cleaned up immediately. Later, she overheard the scolding the three of them got from Mustang.  
Hawkeye had gone and taken them to that (made up) sector and let Watson make that call. In the background, the first and second lieutenant stood patiently away from Watson, speaking a little amongst themselves. Hawkeye stood in the same room and watched over them.

"W-what do you mean I've 'been relieved of my duties for the next week, take a vacation'…? What about the two officers with me and our escorts…?" _"… … …"_ "Them too…?" _"… … … … …"_ "Yes, sir…" _"… …"_ "Complications, sir?" _"… … …"_ "Yes, I understand: You cannot tell me over _these_ lines, it's confidential even to me now. I shall tell my staff this immediately." _"… …"_ "I bid you farewell, good bye."

Click.

"Did you guys hear that? We're stuck here for the next week…" She turned around and faced them. "And our only instruction is: _take a vacation_…"  
"A _vacation_…?" First Lieutenant Roth questioned.  
"Strand three of their commissioned officers in another country with very little instructions… Have they even done that before?" Second Lieutenant Flora wondered.  
"Well I wouldn't really say _strand_… But those were the General's orders… and he won't tell me why…"  
"Must be bad…" Roth sighed  
"I'll have to agree…" Flora sighed as well.  
"Now what to do…" Watson then turned and Hawkeye entered her sight.

_Back with the trio…_

They moved all over the field. Ed and Kaida had finally begun sparring; Al wasobserving the fight. It was easy to see that Kaida lacked strength and some skill: Ed was easily able to overpower her. She just had to stop dodging and moving so quickly and try throwing in some more hits.

Al then noticed she seemed to be a little distracted; her eyes constantly glanced down to any patches of dirt, especially when it was kicked around. Ed also noticed this, but he ignored it and continued to swipe at her. And again, she continued to dodge; blocking his automail punches only seemed to bruise her more so she had no choice but to dodge.

"Are you—ugh—lookin' for something?" He finally asked and punched.

"May—eh—maybe!"

"Hm… You should—ah—try throwing in more—hp—punches Kaida. You chicken or something?" He jumped back and away from her.

Both were breathing a little deeply. She stood there and scowled at him. "Fine, if you insist."

She dug her shoe into the ground and loosened the dirt. Then Ed and Kaida went at it again. Ed swiped at her; she ducked, attempted to trip him, failed, grabbed a handful of dirt, clasped it in between both hands as if she was praying and pulled them apart. Alchemic light glowed as the dirt formed into a short sword.

Ed scowled in a challenging way. "So I guess we're playing with sharp objects now huh?" Then he transmuted his automail arm and the blade appeared once more.

"Well you wanted to see what else I could do—other than spoon bending…"

Then they attacked each other once again. Kaida swiped more often but never made a hit, while Ed's blade grazed her left arm, slicing only the bandages. Their quick movements caused her loose bandages to slowly fall apart. Soon the notorious silver snake on her arm appeared, along with the array it surrounded.

The brothers took a long second to look at it. She too paused when she saw them. "Told you there was one on me…" She suddenly lunged for Ed. "Hup—hah—hp…!" She swiped the short sword at Ed. He easily blocked all her attempts.

They glared at each other in a challenging way and continued to go at it. The sound of metal against metal lasted for a good five minutes. Until her stamina began to run low, she was tired now. "You're not too bad with a short blade little girl!"

Then like all fights should: it ended.

"I. Am. NOT. A. Little. Girl!" As Kaida was about to strike once more, she made a mistake, allowing Ed to strike at the same time. "Huh?" He manipulated his blade quickly and slid her weapon from her hand and sent it flying towards Al. "Crap..." They paused.

_**CLANNGGGGGGGG!**_

The sword hit him one the head and ricochetted off. "Heh-heh…"

From the distraction, Ed quickly tackled her down and pointed his blade at her. "Never get distracted in the middle of a fight—might cost you something," he grinned. "I win…!"

"Bull."

"Oh—and sorry about that Al!"

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There ya go! I hope you liked it. _Oh and I have a place for my fanart that you all can see, **just visit my bio** to get there, 'kay?_And **please review**! Bye! 


	8. Last Burglary

Hey all! THANKS FOR YOUR REVIEWS GUYS! hey make me so happy! And sorry for the long, LONG wait, but I've also been putting up with my DeviantArt account. Just go to my bio to see it! PLEASE GO SEE IT! I'd really love it if you guys do, you'll also get a peek at Kaida... Anyway, here's the next chapter! Oh and you know I don't own anything FMA, I've resulted in begging for and extra $25 to add to my money to pay for tickets to the OTAKON CONVENTION! which i also don't own...

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****Snakes of the Element 47 Ag**: Chapter 8: Last Burglary  
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By pure-thornless-rose 

_Walking out in the middle of town…_

"Are you sure you want to wear that thief's hat?" Al inquired Kaida and secretly whispered: "He might have lice…"

"Oh this ol' thing?" Kaida took the hat off her head. "It's fine I washed it out and everything! I like it too anyway…"

It was only yesterday when Kaida lost to Ed in their match. They had been doing a bit of planning and writing a few reports about the town's status and took the rest of the day in leisure, after the match.

"Alright here's the plan…" Ed began quietly to the other two. "We definitely need to go catch that thief, interrogate, and report everything to Mustang."

"Then it's off to the next town!" Al whispered back.

"That's true and all…" Kaida began, putting the hat on her head with a tilt. "But where will we find him? The jewelry store?" Kaida pointed to the same jewelry store as they passed it by. They paused and looked at each other, then at the store's entrance. Nothing. "Nah…" They shrugged and began walking again. "No one's stupid enough to rob the same place in one week! He'd have to be too crazy, too stupid, or too good!"

Suddenly, CRASH! They heard the sound of loudly breaking glass and turned completely around. The store's windows were suddenly broken and there laid the same man in trench with only the dark sunglasses left to cover his face.

"So he's either too crazy, too stupid, or too good…" Al murmured.

He scurried up and began running. The familiar trio before him caught his eye and he ran towards then past them, grabbing his hat off of Kaida's head.

"Hey!"

"Thanks for the hat, brat." He laughed and slipped the hat onto his head, continuing to run away. "I was waiting to get this back! Haha! This is great, see ya!"

"That's it, I've had enough…" Kaida glowered and took off. "Let's go get him!"

"Right!" The brothers agreed and followed her immediately.

People either moved out of their way or were pushed over and aside if they didn't see them coming. The thief was speeding ahead of them and Kaida was close to being on his tail as Al and Ed raced along behind her. They could hear the man still laughing maniacally. "Ha-hah! You three can't catch me! I'm too fast!" Then he jumped up onto the roof of a car and to the top of a truck, then onto the roof of a building. He paused. "Now, I have a place to get to—which is anywhere away from you three!"

"Oh no you don't," Ed said and followed him to the rooftop. "Not again at least!" Al and Kaida followed and the man panicked, taking off once again.

"Jeez, you guys are persistent!" He yelled behind him. "Leave me alone okay? All I want is all the _true_ gold and silver before they're all _replaced_!"

"_Replaced_…" The three murmured together. They were all running and jumping from one roof to the next. They followed the thief until he jumped down into an alley. He cursed to himself. The idiot, what kind of an experienced thief jumps down into a _dead end_ of an alley? "So he's too stupid then…" Al concluded.

_In Ms. Hameilo's residence…_

"OOF!" Al dumped the thief onto a pillow on the floor, which still hurt. "Hey! What's the big idea?" He was tied up and Kaida had already taken his hat back from him. Then Kaida shut the curtains and Ed shined a bright lamp over him. It was one of those old-fashioned interrogation scenes! Which kind of made the thief uneasy, even Al. Ed began, beaming the light at his face.

"Who are you and why are you stealing jewelry?"

The man sighed exasperatingly. "I'm Craig Aldegar, I steal 'cause that's what I do…" His reply was matter-of-factly and blunt yet true. "Now let me go! And I want my hat back too!"

"Ah! So you're the man in charge of transmuting gold in that building!" Ed said accusingly.

"What? No… You're talking about my brother, _Caleb_ Aldegar—he and I planned on selling jewelry he transmuted for the missing ones I stole."

"So _you_ steal so _he_ can sell and _both of you_ get something out of it?"

"Yes! It's a brilliant plan we concocted! Don't you think?"

"Okay, so tell us something else," Kaida began. The man pouted. "Why are you telling this to us?"

"Eh… Honestly I don't know…"

"He really _is_ too stupid…" Al whispered to Ed, as he took notes of everything that was said. Suddenly the door of their room burst open and a tall, shady looking man was standing there. His presence wasn't very inviting and he openly expressed a scowl. If there were any background music, it would sound deep and low with a slow tempo like duu-dunndoooooom… hehehh… Everyone looked at him with a scowl except for Craig, the thief—until Ms. Hameilo appeared with a broom.

"What in the world are you doing in my home young man?" She scolded at him and began hitting him with the broom repeatedly. "Get out! Out I say! Out!"

WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!

"Ow! Hey lady! You're ruining my evil entrance! OW!" He yelled back, losing his patience. The others were staring blankly at the scene and Ed dropped the lamp. "Dammit! Give me that!"

Then he took the broom from the elderly lady and broke it in half, tossing it to the side. Ms. Hameilo glared and left, they could hear the sound of cabinets opening and shutting in another room. "Ahem… Where was I?" The man at the door said. "Oh yes! Brother, you're too much of an open book, now let's go!"

"Caleb! Brother, what took you long!"

"So you're the one transmuting the gold!" Ed stood up and accused him.

"The powerful client of Mr. Hameilo…" Kaida murmured.

"So I see you've found that out… Hmm, you know too much, I'll have to rid of you before you tell the State."

"Sorry about that, pal. But you have _two_ _State_ Alchemists here so there's no need to tell _them_ again." Ed grinned.

"I took photos and notes too, Ed!" Al informed them, which he did, secretly. Even I, the author of this fic didn't know until now…!

"_Great_… Let's make this quick shall we? I'm a busy man!" Then he pulled two hidden guns out from his jacket and pointed at them. "Move out of the way if you don't want to be shot, brother!" Then he went trigger-happy on them and shot like a maniac while Craig wormed his way under the window. The clang of bullets to metal rang throughout the room and gun smoke filled the air. Al had automatically shielded Kaida and Ed jumped right behind them. He wriggled his way out of the ropes and opened the window, calling back to Caleb for an escape. But as he was about to step out, a warning was shot at the wall next to him; he looked back.

"Stop right there, young man!" Everyone was gawking in awe as they stared at the old woman behind the barrel of a military issue rifle. "Stick your hands up! You two are under arrest for the transmutation and marketing of gold, and robbery! --Good job kids, I knew you'd do well…!"

"M-Ms. Ham-meilo?" Kaida stammered. "You're a military officer?"

"In a way, yes… I usually work under cover so I can't really tell you right now… dearie." She smiled warmly as if nothing had happened, still aiming the gun directly at the two surrounded men.

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Aw, well I guess no one probably saw that one coming... And sorry if it ended like this... I thought it was a bit corny but oh well... anyway... PLEASE REVIEW and come back for the next chapter! And visit my deviantart account! the link's in my bio! 

Oh and for Brandy Weaver, erm, The Paper Wolf... heh... Having that happen would be fun! ButI kinda don't know about that, I mean I've already had plans for Kaida... I've also already thought of leaving this fic as just and action adventure fic. But I have, however, thought, "What if this was a part romance? Who would she fall for... Ed or Al?" XD and then I couldn't choose cause I happened to know what happens in the end of the series (although I haven't seen it.. heh...) and I put thought into that and I've planned this fic far into it's last chapters too. I also wanted this to run in line with the actual series, but in it's own way.

So... if you'd like, I could start a different fic! XD It's kinda up to you, but if I start another one anyway, I'll be glad to work with ya! You're such a nice person for reading ALL that and liking it too! Thankies :D


	9. Surprises

Hey all! Thanks for the reviews, glad you enjoy my fic! Anyway, I've been getting requests and suggestions about Ed and Kaida's relationship now and that they should... fall in love... Heh, so what... friends or a little more...? hmmm...

Oh and here's another chapter! Enjoy and you know how that disclaimer goes...

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_**Snakes of the Element 47 Ag**: Chapter 9: Surprises_

By pure-thornless-rose Hameilo Residence… 

"Are you two finished writing your reports yet?" The woman known as Ms. Hameilo peeked into the room at Kaida and Ed. "…Well, once you two are done, I'll be happy to send them strait to the Colonel for you and you all can head to your next destination!"

They were both seated at the desk and writing. Kaida seemed to be rushing and her handwriting was somehow still legible. Al had been watching them the whole time and patiently. Kaida smiled. "…Oh, ho, ho, ho! HA!" She made one last tap on the paper for the period. "DONE! I WIN, Ed! Nya, your so slow!"

"What!" He looked up in confusion and made the same tap for the period. "Okay, so since when was it that we were _racing_!"

"Since I thought we should, so I never told you so that I'd have an advantage!"

"Okay, whatever…" He gave up with her childish ways. "Here Ms. Hameilo thanks for everything. I should have figured you were a Central officer, I noticed how specific you were with things…" He grinned and handed her his paper and began walking by and outside. "You get up in the morning much earlier than most old people too…"

"Observant little brat…" She murmured with a smile as she accepted Kaida's report. "Wha?" She stuttered when she felt an embrace.

"Thanks Ms. Hameilo," Kaida said, smiling. "Thanks for everything."

"Yes, thank you very much, Ms. Hameilo!" Al bowed.

"I'm glad I was of some help to you all." She smiled back. "Now get up and move, you have another town to investigate." He raspy old voice sung and ushered them outside where Ed was waiting.

Several hours of traveling… 

"So how long until the next town, Al?" Kaida wondered loudly.

"We only have a few more miles," he searched the map then pointed, "we should be able to see it once we pass that big old house on that hill up there."

Suddenly, a weird chill ran up Kaida and Ed's spines when they looked up at the old house, far, far ahead of them. It seemed darker around the house on the hill and it was creepy. Kaida sighed as they continued on walking, "I see dark clouds in our future, really… That place is surrounded by them."

"Oh please," Ed scoffed, "It's just a creepy old, empty lot! It's nothin'!"

"You like to get ahead of yourself, don't you Ed?"

"He's always been that way, Kaida. Just try to ignore it." Al whispered to her.

"HEY!" Ed snapped, "I'm right here, y' know!"

They continued on their little journey and soon the tiny house on top of the hill began to grow as they approached. The sky also began to darken and it wasn't long until they reached the top of the hill and before the old house. They stopped and looked ahead.

"See? There's the next town!" Al announced and pointed. They nodded and were about to continue.

"Wait, guys." Kaida glanced through three windows. "I thought I saw something move past those windows." She pointed up at the row of windows on the second floor. The brothers looked with her and Ed quickly shrugged it off. "Can we check it out?"

"No… Just come on, it's nothing." He began walking again before she said something against him. "Probably someone still lives there."

"Yeah," Al agreed. "This place doesn't seem _that_ old, I guess." He took a step forward, urging Kaida to come. She also shrugged and joined them, keeping an eye on the windows. As she joined the two, she felt another chill and glanced at the center window. Something rustled in the shadows, eyes glaring, and disappeared. She suddenly stopped and nearly gasped out loud but stopped herself. Al responded, "What is it?"

"N-nothing, let's go…"

It wasn't long until they were far from the creepy old house and at the base of the hill. They were almost at the next town's district by then and when they finally reached it, they were welcomed with lots of unusual stares. You know, the kind that makes you uneasy.

"I don't think these people are staring just at me, guys…" Al whispered.

"Maybe they're checking out how short Ed is…" Kaida had a slight outburst.

"YEAH RIGHT!" Ed yelled. "SHUT UP AND TAKE THAT BACK!" More stares and now whispers came quickly. He immediately calmed down, scanning the town's streets. "There's something wrong with the people in this town…"

"Tell me about it…" A voice, neither belonging to Kaida nor Al, spoke. And after the creepy house thing Kaida experienced, she was a tad paranoid.

"YAAHHHH!" she yelped and suddenly appeared in Al's arms, shivering with fear.

"Calm down, it's only me…" the voice was familiar, they turned around.

"Lieutenant Colonel Hughes!" They answered for him quickly with surprise. But he was in casual clothing rather than uniform.

"SHHH! DON'T YELL A RANKING OUT WHEN I'M UNDERCOVER!" He whispered immediately to them.

"Ah…" They sighed and Kaida jumped off Al's arms.

"Jeeze… kids these days…" Suddenly he began to reach for his jacket pocket, they stiffened. "And since we're on the topic—LOOK! My dear, darling ELYSIA! _AMAZING,_ Isn't she? She learned to play jacks with her friends—AND SHE'S BEATING THEM ALL!" He began laughing loudly as the little picture of Elysia was stuffed into all their faces. "She has talent,I say.TALENT! I can't wait to see her next match and watch the snotty little faces the other kids make when they lose… heheheheh…"

"That's wonderful sir!" Kaida laughed nervously.

"I know, isn't it?" Then he put the picture away, they all sighed in relief. "Ah… Kaida! Long time no see! How's your first assignment coming along?"

"Uh, alright…" She responded shyly, he was patting her back heavily and she nearly fell over.

"I still can't believe they let another pup into State Alchemy…" Ed groaned.

"Would you stop calling me that?" Kaida responded. They stuck their tongues out at each other.

"Well believe it, Ed," Hughes said, "cause your '_pup'_ is standing right here… she's also living proof of what her _mother_ was capable of…" He smiled proudly and patted Kaida's back heavily again. She nearly fell over… again.

"Her mother?" Al pondered. Kaida jumped.

"Erm… so what brings you here anyway… Lieutenant Colonel…?" She quickly changed the unavoidable subject.

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So... why IS Hughes here...? What the... I'll tell ya next time... Just **_review_** and tell me what you think... about this story so far _**and/or**_ about Ed and Kaida, that is... I kinda already have plans between them, but I just want to hear what _you_ think... and that old house... is it really empty? WwoOoOoOoo... 


	10. Beggining Again

_**Snakes of the Element 47 Ag**: Chapter 10: Beginning Again  
_By pure-thornless-rose

**In front of a residence's home…**  
"So you're here on a different assignment…" Ed recalled. Hughes had led them all away from the main streets and towards the residential areas of the town. For some reason they had stopped in front of one of the homes as well. Hughes nodded to confirm Ed's thoughts.

"I just arrived this morning and headed straight to a friend's house…" Then he shifted toward the house they were standing in front of and made his way to the door, unlocking it and entering, urging them to follow. "Then I learned that you three were headed for this town on an assignment Roy gave you so I asked him if I could give you guys a room for a while—sorry Kaida, but I tried getting you your own room, away from the boys, but my friend's stubborn…"

"Oh… well that's alright as long as I have my own—ah!"

"But there _are_ three separate beds…!" Hughes suddenly sputtered. "And they all better be _used_ **_separately_**." Then he turned to Ed in a scary sort of way. "Got that Ed?" he eyed the boy like a culprit. "You better not lay a finger on the girl…"

"W-what?" Ed stumbled backwards, suddenly retorting. "Why would I want to…" Suddenly Hughes broke into laughter as Kaida blushed heavily and Al choked from wanting to laugh.

"I'm just joking Ed, I know you're not like that…!" he laughed. "But I'm still enforcing the 'no sharing beds' rule…"

"Good…" Ed piped up. "I'm the least bit attracted to _her_ anyway…!"

"The feeling's mutual…!" Kaida added abruptly. They stuck their tongues out at each other like little children again.

"So what's all this racket about, Maes?" They all suddenly turned towards the new voice at an opening door. A young man peered out and leaned on the doorpost, adjusting his glasses and running his fingers through his dark blonde hair, the stubble across his chin indicated hours of late night work. "Oh…" He paused. "The kids are here…" He then smiled a tired smile. "Welcome…!"

"Ah… guys," Hughes began, "this is my friend, fellow Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Hanel…!" The young man shifted some to give them a lazy and tired salute, Ed and Kaida returned his salute and Al bowed.

"Pleased to meet you all… and sorry for the one-room thing… I'm bunking others here too…" He rubbed the back of his neck with a sweat drop.

Then Kaida whispered to Al, "Is it just me, or is everyone that we meet have a name that begins with an 'H' lately…?"

**The room with the three separate beds… (Ah-hahaha…!)**  
Kaida…" Al started. "Your mother's a State Alchemist?" He finally asked, although they were alone since Ed had to speak with Hughes and Hanel. The room was set up much like the room in the Hameilo residence; Kaida also claimed the bed closest to the window, with Al adjacent from hers, yet in between the two other beds. They only arranged this way to further prove Ed and Kaida's point so Hughes would leave them alone. Kaida squirmed. 

"Well, yes…" she said in wonder. "My mother… she _was_ the Herbal Alchemist…"

"_Was_?" He echoed her words. She nodded, grimly indicating death.

"She specialized in alchemy for medicinal purposes, like the people in Xing… the strong ones made were mass-produced for the war. She told me of other things she was involved with in the military, but that's a secret…" Her tone was grim and unwelcoming, but was very thought provoking.

But then Ed walked in… looking a little gloomy. "Hey guys…" He plopped onto his bed. "I have _boring_ news for you…"

"What is it, brother?"

Ed sighed, "Just sights of chimeras roaming the streets nightly is all… Colonel wants us to see where they're coming from, who's making them, and then capturing them all…"

"So I guess we wait till sundown to go sight seeing, huh…?" Kaida suggested, looking out the window. The view wasn't too special, only that she now noticed that the hill with the creepy old house was in sight. She immediately remembered the eyes she saw through the second floor window.

"Yep…" Ed answered flatly.

"I say we check out that old house too… Cause it sure seems like the perfect hideout now…"

"Yeah… Good idea." Ed answered, smirking. "We'll check it first after sundown." They were in agreement instantly for once, and only Kaida noticed, meaning nothing to her though. Maybe it was the calm atmosphere that let everyone loose. The travel between the two towns wasn't as long as before, but it made them a bit tired.

Then the room fell silent…

**Five minutes later…**  
Edward had fallen asleep. But Alphonse and Kaida spent the time in conversation, Kaida had told Al more about herself than she expected. It was mainly about her family, how they were separated by force, and how the only one she has left now was her older sister, who she continues to believe is still in Drachma. (But we all know is stranded in Central Headquarters… and she doesn't know that so shhh…) The conversation ended when Al looked at his napping brother. 

"Aagh… man…" he complained. Kaida looked in wonder. "Ed fell asleep with his stomach exposed again…"

Kaida giggled at this and watched Ed sleep while his stomach continued to show. _"Wow… this food tastes soooo good…" _Ed suddenly said in a sleepy tone. Kaida chuckled.

Then she had an idea. "You don't mind if I play a little prank on him do you?" she asked Al. He answered with a flat 'of course I do, he's my brother' look. She blinked and said, "I'll do it anyway. It's nothing big at least…" Then she got up and walked towards Ed's bed, rendering Al powerless since she had already taken action. She pulled out a vial with unknown substance in it and squeezed a drop from the eyedropper into his gaping mouth. Ed suddenly sat up, obviously tasting the substance then looking at Kaida angrily.

"YUCK!" He yelled at her. "What the hell is… this… s…stuff…?" His words broke apart and he suddenly plunged back into his bed, asleep. Kaida grinned evilly at Al.

"That's just a little something I use to make sure they're sleeping… mother's recipe mind you…" Al backed away from her. Then she pulled out a thick, black marker and removed the cap.

**An hour later, in the living room…**  
Kaida and Al had decided to help Hanel around the house and had just finished only to sit and talk in the living room. And exactly an hour after tasting Kaida's yucky substance, Ed stepped out of the room and entered the living room, still drowsy. Looking the part too. 

"Crappit, Kaida…" he moaned. "What the hell did you give me…? I have this _nasty_ aftertaste in my mouth…" He yawned. "What?" Everyone was looking at him amusingly.

"Fullmetal…" Hanel smirked. "You have… _things_… written and drawn all over you…" He was holding back a laugh. Hughes looked at Kaida, he knew she did this and she smiled and shrugged. Then she stood up, handed Ed a note and mirror, and left. A concealed smile was wiped across her face. Ed took notice of all the comments written across his arms, which made him cross, really cross… Then he read the note.

"Read your face… It'll be a reminder every time you look in a mirror…" It read. So he looked through the mirror and froze with anger. He turned to Al.

"DID YOU LET HER DO THIS!" He accused his little brother and pointed at the words and little hearts and flowers scribbled on his face.

"She's fast, brother… _real_ fast…" Al defended himself. The other men kept silent, holding back from laughing out loud. Only until Ed stormed off to hunt Kaida down and kill her on the spot did they begin to laugh…

Al looked curiously on. "Wow… she can write backwards?"

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Sorry about this long one... XD;;; Please review okay? let's wait for next time too! 


	11. Creepy Crawlies

Hey guys! SO sorry for the longest wait ever! but here's another installment of Snakes of the Element! Please enjoy it!

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**Snakes of the Element: chapter 11: Creepy Crawlies**  
By p-t-rose**The Old House…**

On their way to the old home, Al had to do his best to keep Ed from murdering Kaida with his bare hands. They had also been informed that the house was supposedly empty and was definitely abandoned and ignored. So what was the thing Kaida glanced at earlier? A chimera? It was very likely. But first, they had to go in and see.

"So…" Kaida gulped, but suddenly announced happily, "I'll go in first!" Then she took a step forward and reached for the entrance. Something yanked her back from the neck of her clothes.

"Oh no you don't!" Ed pulled her back with a grin. "I'm goin' in first!" She scowled.

"Yeah, right… now let go!" she escaped his grip, reaching for the entrance again. --Until she was yanked backwards again. "HEY! Who died and put you in charge, little man? HUH?"

"SHUT UP AND TAKE THAT BACK YOU BRAT!" Ed yelled into her face, spit flying everywhere!

"JUST CAUSE IT'S TRUE DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN RUB-no-_SPIT_ IT IN MY FACE!" She glared and challenged him. "Mini man… pipsqueak… short stuff… half pint…"

"Army pup…! _CRY BABY_…!"

"WHAT? _YOU_ TAKE _THAT_ BACK! I mean it Ed! I'm no cryba…"

"As if… yes you are…"

"Why I oughta…"

"GUYS!" Al suddenly interrupted and pushed them away from each other. He was actually fed up for once. "All this over who gets in first? Jeez! You two argue over the most trivial things! HOW IMMATURE!"

The two went silent.

**INSIDE the old house…**

After venting, Alphonse had decided that he went in first instead so that Edward and Kaida would stop arguing. They ignored each other for a long while afterwards. The immense house overall was old, dry, dusty, and yet still very sturdy. The wooden floors squeaked along with the shutters outside and the doors to every room. There were barely any furniture left and the paintings on the wall seemed to stare directly at you. Then things went eerily silent as they slowly wandered its hallways.

"So guys…" Al broke the silence awkwardly. Ed and Kaida looked at him after glare glancing at each other. "I don't see anything so far… how about you?"

"Nothing…" They echoed simultaneously, then glaring again.

"I did see something upstairs earlier today when we came by…" Kaida offered. The brothers raised their heads. "…I swear, it looked at me too… Maybe… we should… go up and see?" A chill ran up and down her spine and their eyes widened.

"Yeah, why not…" Ed stiffened up like the brave young lad he is! "--Al, you go first…" He then showed Al towards a staircase.

"What? Why me?"

"…Because… uhmmm…" Ed thought. "Ah! Well _you_'re obviously more mature than me, and Kaida and I will probably just start fighting again…!"

"Good point for once…!" Kaida agreed nervously.

"For once…?" Ed slouched.

"Gah…" Alphonse gave up. They used his own point against him for another, and very different, situation…! Then he took the walk up the staircase, and eerie feeling shadowing about them all. Edward and Kaida slowly followed behind the big suit of armor. It wasn't long until they realized that they had reached the top of the staircase and looking down both sides of a dark, wide corridor.

"N-no lights…" Kaida looked around anxiously.

"Psh… scaredy-cat…" Ed whispered, she heard him, reluctantly, but did not say anything but pout. "There's perfectly nothing wrong with the da—r…"

"ED WATCH OUT!" Kaida yelled and tackled him to the ground. Alphonse immediately found her purpose for her sudden actions and stood guard of the fallen couple.

"WHAT THE HELL—GET OFF!"

"NO PROBLEM WHEN I JUST SAVED YOU FROM…"

"GYAHH—AGH!" Alphonse yelped as he was abruptly thrown into the wall. Kaida quickly rolled off Ed and jumped to her feet, trying to look for whatever threw Al into the wall. But it was too dark.

"Dammit…" Edward, too, jumped up immediately and looked around. "Al, you okay?"

"Yeah!"

"There it is!" Kaida shouted and pointed towards the east corridor. And yet, there it was, standing in the dark corridor, idly. It was close to the floor but still enormous, creeping closer, stepping on one of each of its eight skinny and hairy legs. "It looks like a huge spider…!"

She wasn't completely correct, however. What seemed to be a giant spider now had what seemed to be clear insect's wings sprouting from gray feathers on its back. It wriggled its mandibles and its fangs hissed at the three of them.

* * *

YEAH! ...So I'm throwing a kind-of-suspense ending to this chapter... eheh... Well I hope you'll forgive me for the long wait! _Please review_! It really makes me pumped up for the next chapter! ...and the e-mails I get are awesome reminders and they really make me happy! lol I wish I could reply directly to each and every one of the reviews you all make without making them in a chapter... eheh...

_REVIEW PLEASE!_ It helps...! see you all next chapter!


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